Gastric Sleeve Surgery in Tijuana, Mexico
Many patients want to lose weight but don’t know where to start. One solution that has helped thousands of people like you is to undergo gastric sleeve surgery in Tijuana, Mexico.
At the Tijuana Weight Loss Surgery, we are committed to providing safe, cost-effective, and highly efficient surgery options to help patients lose weight and keep the weight off. One of these bariatric surgery options is the Gastric Sleeve.
What is Gastric Sleeve?
Gastric sleeve surgery in Tijuana, Mexico, produces rapid results using minimally invasive laparoscopic technique. The sleeve surgery trims down the stomach to one-sixth of its original size. The remaining stomach pouch holds only 15% of the normal stomach contents to reduce gut hormones and make you feel full with less food intake.
While the patient is under general anesthesia, the board-certified surgeon makes 3-5 small incisions through the abdomen, including a camera known as a laparoscope, a stapler, and a cutter. The surgeon then inserts a bougie or flexible tube into the patient’s esophagus as a guide to split the stomach into two parts. The smaller portion of the belly (still attached to the esophagus) is stapled closed and reformed into a small sleeve. At the same time, the rest is removed entirely, making it an irreversible procedure.
After gastric sleeve surgery, the stomach volume is reduced from approximately 30-40 ounces to approximately 3-4 ounces. This reduces the amount of food a patient can regularly eat and lowers the risk of malnutrition following bariatric surgery, unlike other surgery options.
Cost of Gastric Sleeve in Mexico
Gastric sleeve in Mexico costs substantially less than the same procedure in the United States or Canada. It is estimated that patients save between $12,000 to $18,000 by undergoing gastric sleeve in Mexico with Tijuana Weight Loss Center. As a top medical tourism operater, we provide low-cost, all-inclusive weight loss procedures at a fraction of the price.
The price for our all-inclusive gastric sleeve procedure starts at $4,995.
We operate through exclusive bariatric surgeons and their surgical teams at our primary hospital in Tijuana, Mexico.
We also offer single incision laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SILS) starting from $5,995.
Success Rate of Gastric Sleeve
The success rate of gastric sleeve surgery depends on the patient’s commitment to weight loss and living a healthy and active lifestyle. Once you return home, it is essential to follow up with a physician after three months to make sure the process works well without any complications.
A comprehensive blood work analysis is also required to ensure the patient is healthy following their procedure.
What happens if the gastric sleeve fails?
There are many bariatric revision options if the sleeve doesn’t work for you. Gastric sleeve surgery is often followed by gastric bypass or duodenal switch surgery if the patient does not reach a specific weight loss goal.
Note: Patients who previously had gastric banding (lap band) are likely to revise it to a gastric sleeve.
Am I Eligible for Gastric Sleeve Surgery?
Naturally, those who need this bariatric procedure cannot lose weight or rid themselves of obesity through dieting and fitness alone. If you consider this type of surgery, it is always good to consider other options first – and fully understand what life will be like after the sleeve gastrectomy in Mexico.
As a general rule, the vertical sleeve gastrectomy is best suited to individuals who are either significantly overweight or whose medical condition would rule out other forms of surgery. The laparoscopic gastric sleeve is also commonly used for high-risk and high BMI patients as a first-stage procedure.
Benefits of Gastric Sleeve Surgery
There are many advantages to having this gastric sleeve surgery in our surgical hospital in Tijuana. The first is rapid weight loss, as most patients reduce their excess body weight by more than 50% in just four to six months.
The surgery takes one hour, making the risk of complications even lower than more invasive procedures such as gastric bypass surgery. Furthermore, the sleeve is revisable in case your stomach pouch stretches over time.
Patients also feel less hunger because their stomach is smaller post surgery. The portion of the stomach that produces the hunger hormones ghrelin is eliminated during surgery.
While other weight-loss surgeries require that the small intestine be cut and reattached, sleeve patients do not suffer the side effects of intestinal bypasses, such as intestinal obstruction, anemia, osteoporosis, vitamin deficiency, and protein deficiency.
Gastric sleeve surgery is suitable for patients who are already suffering from anemia, Crohn’s disease, and various other conditions that would place them at high risk for surgery involving intestinal bypass.
Another advantage of the vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) is that it is one of the few surgeries performed laparoscopically in incredibly overweight patients. This fact makes this surgery more attractive and safer to high BMI and high-risk patients.
- Expected Weight Loss Long Term: 50% of Excess Weight Loss after 6 Years (source)
- Gastric Sleeve Surgery has a Similar Effect on Type 2 Diabetes as Gastric Bypass Surgery (source).
Disadvantages of Gastric Sleeve Surgery
This restrictive weight loss technique is reliable and highly effective in reducing excess weight and allows the stomach to absorb 100% of the food. However, there are drawbacks to choosing the gastric sleeve over weight loss surgery options.
One of the disadvantages of vertical sleeve gastrectomy surgery is that it does not always produce the same amount and speed of weight reduction as gastric bypass. VSG Patients can also regain weight in the long term, but this is true of any kind of purely restrictive surgery.
Because the procedure requires stapling of the stomach, the possibility of leakage and of other complications directly related to stapling, though rare, can occur. Besides, as with any surgery, patients risk additional complications such as post-operative bleeding, small bowel obstruction, pneumonia, infection, and blood clots.
Gastric Sleeve Complications
Patients need to understand the possible complications of sleeve gastrectomy:
- Leakage
- Infection
- Internal Bleeding
- Bowel Obstruction
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Bulimia
However, the risk of encountering any of these complications is minimal and varies from about 0.5 to 1%. The risk of death from this form of surgery is about 0 .25% which is extremely small. The fact remains that the overall chances of staying obese are much more dangerous and common than doing nothing at all.
Fortunately, many of the complications can be treated by carefully handling any wounds and keeping the doctors up to date with any issues. With the internal bleeding, a blood transfusion may be required in severe cases.
General Side Effects
Since this bariatric surgery removes most of the stomach, patients will experience considerable weight loss. Since this is a permanent operation, you will have to get used to eating less and practice portion control.
Vomiting and diarrhea tend to be some of the mild side effects that can occur, especially when adapting to this new way of eating. Esophagus issues can also arise if you are not careful with how much and how quickly you eat. If you feel that there are further complications on the way, it is a good idea to speak to your doctor as soon as possible.
Post-Op Care
Heavy lifting is not recommended. A long-term maintenance diet is also required, as this will help to keep weight down as well. Vitamin deficiency is a possibility, so that supplements will be needed.
It’s essential to follow all instructions from your doctor and nutritionist. You will be on a liquid diet for a specific period. From there, you will incorporate different foods and solids into your diet. It’s important to eat slowly and the required amount of foods outlined in your post-op plan.